Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-06-30
A BURSTED BANK.
Liabilities Of the Fidelity Bank III
Cincinnati Estimated at
S6,000,000.
President Swift Makes a Statement
Deposit0rS Sadly Left in the
LuPch.

CGNoINNT1, o., June 23;-Every hour
seems TO add to the magnitude of yester-
days failures and TO increase the frauds
and double-dealing which brought them
about The liabilities of the Fidelity
bank are now expected to reach $4,000
600, and those of L. l.. Harper, f. l.. Har
per d Co., the Swift iron-works, and the
Riverside rolling mill will reach from
100000 to 100000, making total
of SS,0O0,0sO to $1O,O00,000,
The assets can only be conjectures, but
if the bank depositors get 90 per cent.
they will be lucky. There is much uncer-
tainty as to the amount which may be
realized from stockholders of the bank.
1t seems that of the 100000, which the
Fidelity boosted of the latter half had
not been authorized, although paid for,
and it is question as to how it is to be
treated in settling up the assets Then it
is said that Harpcr's holdings are mostly
in the second million. If il is held that
this second million does not exist as stock
there may be more hope for depositors.
Evidence of the frauds used and the des-
perate efforts made to get deposits comes
to light every hour. Lying was done by
wholesale in order to get men to put their
money in the bank. Judging by the nun
Der heard from Of the Fidelity's country
correspondents, most of them who had a
balance were Systematically swindled.
1t is said that large quantities of the dis
counted paper was sent to New York and
rehypothecated there, and that
No TRACE OF MUCH OF IT
can now be found by the examiner and
receiver. IT is absolutely certain that
for some weeks it has been a common
thing with the three arrested officers of
the bank TO urge friends to solicit certain
others to keep their account with the Fid
city, with the whispered promise that
if the application was successful the par
ties approached should be "put on the
inside of the big wheat deal" as a reward.
A system Of persistant and often petty
lying on the subject of the wheat deal and
deposits was kept up by all three. Every
hundred dollars in sight seemed
to be garbbed for. Workmen with
the petty savings of years were
besieged to deposit and they
usually succumbed TO the Establishments
used The industry with which this col
lection of funds was kept up was equaled
Only by the completeness with which they
were swept into the bottomless wheat pit
in Chicago.
Franklin Alter, a very conservative man,
| formerly connected with the Fidelity, said
/ to-day: 81 believe there was never
more thoroughly Quilted bank on earth.
! There will not be a cent left for the de-
positors.n His opinion is concurred in by
other careful men. The fact that Harper,
/ Baldwin, and Hopkins were rearrested
this afternoon on charge of conspiracy
TO defraud shows that there will be de-
/ termined effort TO push them. They are
very closely watched
/ FOR FEAR THEY MAY ABsooND.
| Harpers most ungrateful trick and one
| of his most damaging ones, came to light
/ to-day, though not published here. A few
| days ago he went TO a rich Third street
banker whose name is not here given, and
! said: Air, we have been business
| friends for long time, and l want to ask
little favor of you. | want to borrow
| $4,000, and for the sake of looks don't
want to take it from my own bank"
! Mr.. --- said he had the money, but init
mated that the sum of $4,000 demanded
some cons Iteration in a business way,
even between friends, and that he ought
to have some security.
| Oh certainly he should have some Fide-
| ity bank stock, and at par, too.
And would Mr.. Harper mind-life was
uncertain at best-putting the stock in
his friends name?
'"With pleasure" said Harper, and he
| did so, and got his $4,000, while Mr.
to day finds he is out of $50, 600 loaned on
that amount of worthless stock which may
be assessed to it's full face value making
total of $4,000 to be credited to Har-
1 per's wheat deal.
Fidelity depositors are gloating to-day
over a discovery made by legal firm that
in the case of Peckham Iron company vs..
| Harper reported in forty first Ohio state
reports, in the judgment of the court it
Is stated that Harper converted $50 tons
of iron to his own use, when rapidly
| going up in price, as against his partners
and was in collusion with one Carruthers
TO defraud Harper's own firm and the
/ Peckham iron company, for whom he was
acting as agent.
/ There is great indignation at Swift's
iron and steel works il Newport because
of the failure. The
! EIGHT HUNDRED MEN REFUsED 10 WORK
/ unless their wages were closed. One man
threatened to snoot Harper on sight.
Joseph Josephs, a creditor of 4. J.. Har-
per for $4,000, to-day replevied Swift's
works, assigned by Harper yesterday
There will probably be legal fight for
! possession.
! Harper to-day again refused to be in
/ terviewed. II have nothing whatever to
say about the matter said he. "There
has been enough said already" He did
not look as badly worried as ne did last
night. The mans GOODNESS is phenomen-
al. Asst. Dist. Atty Bruce was asked
when Harper, Baldwin, and Hopkins
would be tried. He said: "They have
been bound over to the grand jury which
meets in October, and if the jury indicts
them they will be tried at once There
is none Of the delay in the federal courts
that is so aggravating in the state courts.
We will be all ready for immediate trial,
and will insist upon having the cases tried
at once, and as Judge Sage does not en-
I courage useless DELAYS the trials will in